Improvement in combined letter-sheet and envelope



UNITED STATES OFFICE.

LEO EHRLIGH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMBlNED LETTER-SHEET AND ENVELOPE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 190,478, dated May 8,1877; application filed December 4, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEO EHRLIoH, of St.Louis, in the county of St; Louis and State of Missouri, have invented anew and Improved Combined Envelope and Letter Sheet, of which thefollowing is a specification:

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a front view of myimproved en velope and letter-sheet Fig. 2, a perspective view of thesame folded ready for closing; and Figs. 3 and 4 are, respectively,front and rear views of the envelope and letter-sheet combined.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The invention has reference to a combined envelope and letter-sheet,that may be manufactured cheap, and sealed in convenient and reliablemanner; and the invention consists of a sheet of suitable size havingsealing-flaps that extend at one corner along a portion of the sides, soas to close in the natureof an envelope when the sheet is folded up toonefourth of its size.

In the drawing, A represents a letter-sheet of the usual notepaper orother size; and B B are gummed sealing-flaps, which run from one cornerof the sheet along the sides of the same, to about half the length ofthe sides, more or less, as desired.

The sealing-flaps are made narrow, and, preferably, rounded off at theends, and are pasted over the edges of the sheet, after the same hasbeen folded together, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The sealing-flaps Bshould preferably be equal to half the length of the sides, so when thesheet is folded to one-fourth of its size the sealing-flaps will runalong two adjoining sides of the envelope thus formed, and securelyclose the same. The other two sides are closed by the folding, so thatthe prying into the letter is made impossible.

, The small size of the flaps requires only a small additional quantityof paper and gumming, and admits the convenient and economical cuttingout of the blanks from the paper.

The envelope may also be opened with great facility by introducing thepaper-knife at the open folded edge and running it along the flaps, soas to cut them, and admit the open ing of the letter, forming thus acheap, conveniently-used, and time-saving envelope and letter-sheet.

I am aware that it is not, broadly, new to fold a letter-sheet and pasteflaps over the open edges; but this has only been accomplished by flapson three sides and a single fold, by which there is a great loss ofpaper in the manufacture, while the facility of copying in press isgreatly obstructed.

I am aware that it is not new, broadly, to use sealing-flaps on the endsand sides of a sheet of paper; but

What I claim is A letter-sheet having the gum-flaps B B,

forming an angle at one corner, and extending to half the length andbreadth, thus enabling the sheet to be folded in the middle bothlongitudinally and transversely, and the open edges to be all broughtunder the gum-flaps, as shown and described.

LEO EHRLIOH. Witnesses:

PAUL GoEPEL, O. SEDGWIGK.

